December 31, 2013

Each year, the Blackstone Valley boasts its share of amateur championship teams (from the high school ranks to the summer amateur leagues) and tremendous individual performances that rank among the very best in Rhode Island.
But itâ€™s been quite some time since this region has seen an outpouring of success such as the events that transpired during 2013.

December 30th

December 30, 2013

WOONSOCKET â€” Hereâ€™s hoping that Bryan Berard succeeded in knocking off the skating rust last week at Adelard Arena.

Itâ€™s one thing to glide around the ice while having a good time with your high school buddies, along with the Mount St. Charles hockey alumni who preceded your time on Logee Street. Come New Yearâ€™s Eve, a much bigger audience will be watching Berard as the Woonsocket native and former Mountie standout joins forces with legends and greats of the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise.

December 30, 2013

BURRILLVILLE â€” Cumberland High head coach Mark Andreozzi had a particular plan long before the start of its initial tilt of the Burrillville Winter Classic. He wanted to play all three of his goalkeepers in an effort to give them more experience.
Then again, he also hoped his club would show enough wherewithal to skate off the Levy Rink ice with a victory.
The Clippers did just that Monday night, rallying for a tally in all three periods and claiming an upset 3-2 triumph over Division I/Eccleston League representative Barrington.

December 29th

December 29, 2013

BURRILLVILLE â€” The brainchild of Burrillville High head coach Steve Daigle and Levy Rink manager Chris Lacey, the will resume for the second consecutive season on Dec. 30, but Daigle calls it new and improved.
â€śLast year, we had Lincoln, Cumberland, Barrington and us, but now we've gone to a six-team tournament with the addition of North Smithfield and Medfield, Mass.,â€ť he stated. â€śWe wanted to add another Rhode Island team, and Medfield is a natural because the head coach is Toby Carlow, who graduated from Burrillville in 1995.

December 28th

December 28, 2013

WOONSOCKET â€” Mount St. Charles head coach Dave Belisle spent nearly a half hour speaking to his troops behind his closed locker room doors on Saturday afternoon.
It came of no surprise.
His Mounties had played rather well through the initial two 15-minute periods while battling Fairfield Prep of Connecticut; actually, they did the same for another nine minutes of the third before buckling, allowing the floodgates to open.

December 27th

December 27, 2013

CUMBERLAND â€” In the end, Woonsocket High took advantage of five turnovers in the final 3:37 while mustering an 11-0 flurry in the span of 2:43 to roll to a 63-51 triumph over Tolman in the championship game of the 41st annual Boys & Girls Club of Cumberland/Lincoln Roadshow Holiday Classic on Friday night.
It turned out to be the Villa Novansâ€™ team-leading eighth in the history of the oldest holiday tourney in Rhode Island. Had the Tigers eked it out, it wouldâ€™ve been their sixth, which would have pushed them into a three-place tie with host Cumberland and Lincoln.

December 27, 2013

PROVIDENCE â€” One of the two suspended freshmen is back on Providence Collegeâ€™s campus. Forward Rodney â€śRajayâ€ť Bullock was a full-fledged participant at Fridayâ€™s practice and will be part of the traveling party when the Friars head to Amherst to tango with nationally-ranked UMass on Saturday night.

December 26th

December 26, 2013

WOONSOCKET â€” So what if it was the morning after Christmas? To the roughly four-dozen former Mount St. Charles hockey players who took to the Adelard Arena surface wearing red or white sweaters, this particular occasion was not about to be missed.

The sight of the Mountiesâ€™ glorious skating past coming to life at this time of year is nothing new. In what could be viewed as the perfect appetizer, an alumni game is always staged on the same day that the puck drops on the MSC Holiday Face-Off Hockey Tournament.

December 26, 2013

CUMBERLAND â€” Tolman High head coach Mike Kayata admitted to being less than ecstatic about his offense on Thursday night.
His defense, however, was a different story.
Excepting a lull early in the final stanza, that â€śDâ€ť forced most of Lincolnâ€™s 18 turnovers throughout the first half and down the stretch as the Tigers rolled to a 56-40 victory in the first semifinal of the 41st annual Boys & Girls Club of Cumberland/Lincoln Roadshow Holiday Classic at Cumberland Highâ€™s Wellness Center.

December 26, 2013

SMITHFIELD â€” The future was on display for Cumberland on Thursday afternoon inside Smithfield Highâ€™s gymnasium, and judging by the way the Clippers performed in its non-league game against Woonsocket, the future looks very bright for the program.
Freshman guard Julianne Ross delivered her second 10-point output in as many games and sophomore guard Taylor Fay and Sarah Marsland had solid performances as well in the Clippersâ€™ 39-23 victory over the Villa Novans in the opening game of the 27th annual R.I. Board of Officials/Smithfield Boosters Club Holiday Classic.